STANTON - A small group of people inspired by history cut their own long, hard trail to create a place of lasting significance near where the Knife and Missouri rivers converge at Stanton.

For centuries, the river country rich with furs and flint drew travelers and entrepreneurs out of the wilderness to trade with the settled Mandan river people who lived there.

Seven primary trails from around the compass led to those Mandan villages.

The long-ago trails gave a name and connection to a modern-day 7 Trails Trading Post on the outskirts of Stanton, where a grand opening was held last week.

Today it takes U.S. currency to trade for goods like T-shirts, wood items and specialty foods sold at the post. A 50-pound bale of reeking beaver skins would only buy an invitation to take it on outside.

The post is within a stone's throw of the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, which preserves village sites historically occupied by Mandan, Hidasta and Arikara people.

It took years to complete, because the Knife River friends' foundation group had only its own elbow grease to trade.

Members scrounged, found contributions here and there, and slowly turned what had been a large garage into an inviting cedar and pine log structure with deep eaves and fieldstone buttresses.

The post serves as a commerce bridge between Stanton and the national site. Most importantly, it's a place where education and ideas can be exchanged.

Knife River ranger Craig Hansen said the post - quietly open since last summer - already has been an important asset.

"It's been really nice to use as an educational extension of the park," he said.

Birding, photography and pottery workshops have or will be held, as well as a Winter Outbound event. This summer's Kid's Camp, sponsored by the park and planned for July Tuesdays, is expected to bring in as many as 60 kids who will build things like miniature earthlodges at the post, before touring the real thing next door.

Ray Kerns of Stanton, a foundation member who has led construction of the post, said the opportunities for education are as endless as the history.

He envisions opportunities like teaching metal sand casting, similar to how trade goods were made for the Lewis and Clark expedition. The Knife River villages are where Sakakawea was living when explorers Lewis and Clark came through.

Kerns came up with the idea of kiln-firing pieces of brilliantly colored fused glass in the shape of arrowheads. Encircled in silver and suspended from leather, the shimmery pendants are one of the post's most popular sale items.

"If you want to be part of a community, you need to connect to its art and history," Kerns said.

Board members Rose Laning of Bismarck and Noel Narveson of Stanton say they've been the park's friends and post builders and volunteers because the history inspires them.

"There's so much potential," Laning said.

For now, the post will have regular hours Wednesdays through Sundays through the remaining tourist season. The foundation will hold special events there during Knife River's annual Culture Festival July 25-26 and Stanton's Knife River Days in early August.

For information about the friends' group and seven-trail history, go to their Web site at kniferiverfriends.org.

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 701-748-5511 or lauren@westriv.com.)